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NORTH AFRICA,
T H E BALKANS
AND
NORTH AFRICA
1941 - 1942
Dust and smoke rise into the
air as German paratroops
race forward to attack a
position in Crete.
T H E BALKANS
NORTH AFRICA
1941 - 1942
WILL FOWLER
CONTENTS
UNTERNEHMEN MARITA
6-27
AFRIKA KORPS
ASCENDANT
66-94
INDEX 95-96
H
itler had been an early admirer of the 1940. The Italian attempt to advance along
Fascist Italy of Benito Mussolini. the Mediterranean coast was disastrous and
Long before Hitler achieved power in the depleted French forces held the attacks
Germany in 1933, Mussolini had begun to until the French surrender at Compiegne.
transform Italy into a totalitarian state. The Italians were then able to grab border
Italy went to war to seize the African areas of southeastern France and extended
kingdom of Abyssinia in October 1935 and their control as far as Lyon to the north and
had expanded its territorial and colonial Avignon to the south on the River Rhone as
control through the 1930s. well as the island of Corsica.
As France was reeling from German On September 27, 1940 Germany and Italy,
attacks, Italy declared war on her on June 10, who had already signed the Axis Pact on May
6
BLITZKRIEG
7
BLITZKRIEG
Albanian troops and volunteers they were ABOVE: The Italian crew of a Mitriaglice Fiat
ostensibly on a mission of "liberation" for 194/35 machine gun man the weapon in an anti-
Albanians living in Greece. aircraft role. The gun, dating from World War I,
They faced four Greek divisions of the 1st was unreliable and unpopular.
Army. Though on paper the Greeks appeared
outnumbered their divisions were larger, at Corps under Colonel Papadopoulos counter
18,500 in contrast to the Italians, at between attacked the Italian 11th Army under General
12,000 and 14,000. The Greeks had more effi- Gelsos. The Greek Army of Macedonia
cient light and medium artillery and more inflicted a startling defeat on the elite Italian
machine guns. They stopped the Italian Iulia Mountain Division
attacks and then on November 4 the 2nd Greek forces recaptured border areas and
GREECE
ARMY NAVY
5 0 0 , 0 0 0 men 2 , 9 0 0 men
18 Infantry 1 Cruiser
Divisions 10 Destroyers
1 3 Torpedo
A I R FORCE Boats
3,000 men 6 Submarines
120 aircraft
forced the Italians out of Greece and across from the Middle East Command of General
the border into Albania. By mid-November Wavell in Egypt. This was a sizeable slice of
they had deployed 11 infantry divisions, two Wavell's force that was fighting hard against
infantry brigades and one cavalry division the Italians in North Africa. In Operation
against 15 Italian infantry divisions and one Lustre W Force sailed for Greece and on
tank division. March 4 began landing at Piraeus.
Mussolini's generals had warned him By March 1 the Greek forces had captured
against launching an attack in this harsh Porto Edda on the coast and the inland towns
terrain so late in the year. His Chief of Staff of Klisura, Roritsa, Pogradec and were within
Marshal Pietro Badoglio resigned in protest striking distance of the Albanian capital
and on December 4 his Under Secretary of Tirana.
State for War, General Ubaldo Soddu, recom- The submarines in the small Greek Navy
mended an armistice with the Greeks. lay in wait in the waters of the Adriatic and
On February 25, 1941 the Greek govern- sank 18 Italian ships carrying men, stores and
ment under Alexandros Rorizis accepted the equipment from Italy to Albania.
offer of British military assistance. Known as The Italian navy was also suffering humil-
W Force after its commander Lt General iating losses in action against the Royal Navy
Maitland Wilson it consisted of 50,672 men in t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n . In O p e r a t i o n
from the New Zealand Division, and 6th and Judgement on November 11, 1940, for the loss
7th Australian Divisions of the 1st Australian of two aircraft, 12 Fleet Air Arm Swordfish
Corps under Lt General Blarney. In addition torpedo bombers operating from the carrier
armour and artillery support was also drawn HMS Illustrious 290km (180 miles) off the
BLITZKRIEG
SAVOIA-MARCHETTI SM79-II
SPAVIERO (SPARROWHAWK)
"The three-engined aircraft was originally
Type: Bomber
Crew: 4 - 5
Power Plant: Three 7 8 0 h p Alfa Romeo 1 2 6 RC 3 4
Performance: Maximum speed at 4 , 0 0 0 m (13,120ft)
4 3 0 k m / h (267mph)
Normal range: 1,900km ( 1 , 1 8 0 miles)
Weights: Loaded 1 0 , 4 8 0 k g (23,100lb)
Dimensions: W i n g span: 2 1 . 2 m (69ft 6in)
Length: 15.8m (51ft l 0 i n )
Height: 4 . 3 1 m (14ft 1 in)
Armament: One fixed forward-firing 12.7mm (0.5in)
Breda SAFAT SAG; one flexible 12.7mm
(0.5in) Breda SAFAT SAG in dorsal and
ventral position; one 7.7mm Lewis M G in
either of two lateral hatches; max bomb
A B O V E : A n Italian A i r Force S M 8 1 Pipistrello
load 1,250kg (2,750lb)
(Bat), a m i l i t a r y version of the S M 7 3 a i r l i n e r that
w a s used as a utility a i r c r a f t .
b a d l y d a m a g e d at Taranto.
BLITZKRIEG
Italian coast had crippled three battleships sided however. On March 26 Italian Mezzi
and a cruiser and damaged dock installations Navali d'Assalto one-man high-speed craft
in the Italians' base at Taranto. The attack at loaded with explosives were used in a spec-
night was undertaken in two waves. Each tacular attack against the cruiser HMS York
wave had two aircraft that dropped flares to in Suda Bay, Crete. The warship was crippled
illuminate the targets. Following the attack and later sunk by German bombers.
the Italian fleet moved north to harbours on Italian Maiale - "Pig" - submersibles crip-
Italy's west coast, reducing their ability to pled the battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth and
attack British convoys in the Mediterranean. Valiant in Alexandria harbour on December
The operation was later closely studied by 19, 1941. The Pigs were 6.7m (22ft) long and
the Imperial Japanese Navy who were inter- had a two-man crew equipped with dry suits
ested to establish if aerial torpedoes would and breathing equipment, who sat astride
run true in the confined waters of a harbour. them like a giant tandem motorcycle. The
It was clear that they would, and so similar Human Torpedo, as the British dubbed them,
tactics would be used at Pearl Harbor in their had a detachable warhead that could be posi-
attack against the American Pacific Fleet on tioned underneath the keel of an anchored
Sunday December 7, 1941. ship. A timer on the warhead allowed the
On February 25, 1941 the submarine HMS crew to swim clear and escape. In Alexandria
Upholder sank the cruiser Armando Diaz off the Italian "frog men", as the swimmers in
Tunisia. their black waterproof one-piece suits were
The naval action was not completely one nicknamed, were captured but remained
BLITZKRIEG
11
ABOVE: The thick armour of British M a t i l d a M k II from HMS Formidable damaged Vittorio
tanks was a frightening shock for Italian gunners Veneto and the British warships under
in North A f r i c a w h o were forced to aim for the Admiral Cunningham sank two heavy
tracks. cruisers and two destroyers, while the
damaged Italian heavy cruiser Pola was later
silent until the charges had exploded beneath torpedoed. The action on March 28, 1941,
the two battleships. known as the battle of Cape Matapan, marked
ULTRA intelligence allowed the British the high point of Royal Navy operations in the
Mediterranean Fleet to intercept an Italian Mediterranean.
task force of eight cruisers, nine destroyers Earlier in North Africa on September 13,
and the battleship Vittorio Veneto. Aircraft 1940 80,000 men of the Italian 10th Army
grouped in five divisions supported by 200
tanks pushed over the border from the Italian
colony of Tripolitania into British-protected
Egypt.
FRENCH HUMOUR
that she invaded the USSR (1941) it stood at seize not only mainland Greece, but also the
a wartime record of 2,963,000 tons. The USSR offshore islands.
had provided Germany with 617,000 tons in A passive or cooperative Yugoslavia was
1940 and so helped fuel the tanks that necessary for German troops to move south.
crashed through Western Europe. The Yugoslav government in Belgrade was
The fastest and most effective way to strong-armed by the Germans and Italians
prevent the threat of air attacks on Ploesti was into joining the Tripartite Pact on March 25.
to neutralise Greece. The original operation However, two days later, encouraged by the
in a directive issued by Hitler in December British Foreign Office, Serbian officers in the
13, 1940 called for the occupation of the Air Force led a coup against the government
Aegean coast and Salonika Basin. In the end of Prince Paul, rejecting the Pact and setting
the Germans with their Italian allies would up a government of national unity under
BLITZKRIEG
BELOW: Heinkel H e l 1 1
bombers part of the
force that devastated
Belgrade in three
waves of attacks on
Easter Sunday, 1 9 4 1 .
ABOVE: A Junkers Ju88 runs up its engines on an What is certain is the attacks panicked the
improvised airstrip. The Ju88 was one of the young king and his government into flight.
outstanding aircraft of World War II, operating in During the raids the fighter squadrons of the
a variety of roles including fighter, bomber and Royal Yugoslav Air Force took off to defend
dive bomber. the city. Some were equipped with Hawker
Hurricanes, others had Messerschmitt
Bf109s. They shot down two aircraft but by
ORDERS - COUNTER the end of the campaign out of 419 aircraft
ORDERS - DISORDER the air force had lost 49 in the air and 85 on
the ground with about 50 escaping to Greece
"All troops must engage the enemy wher- and some later making their way to Egypt. At
ever encountered and with every means 05.10 on April 6 Luftflotte IV under General
at their disposal. Do not wait for direct Lohr attacked airfields in Yugoslavia as well
orders from above but act on your own as Belgrade.
and be guided by your judgement, initia- The Yugoslav plan of operations "R-41", like
tive and conscience."' that adopted by Poland in 1939, played into
the German hands. It called for defence of the
Yugoslav General Dusan Simovic entire length of the border in which almost
Radio orders to the Army April 1941 the whole army, 27 divisions, would be tied
up. The only offensive operation envisaged
BLITZKRIEG
was with Greek forces on the Albanian border Luftwaffe bombers based in Bulgaria
against the Italians. attacked the Greek port of Piraeus and hit the
On land the German 2nd Army under SS Clan Fraser, a freighter loaded with
General Freiherr von Weichs attacked from ammunition for the British Expeditionary
Austria on April 6 and at 05.50 on April 8 Force. The huge explosion that followed
General von Kleist's Panzergruppe I, that had wrecked the port.
been earmarked for an attack on Thrace in On April 12 German and Italian forces
Greece, pushed towards Belgrade from moved towards Greece. The Italian V, VI and
Bulgaria. In brief fighting the Panzergruppe XI Corps was backed by Luftflotte IV that
smashed the right wing of the Yugoslav 5th attacked the Yugoslav 7th Army columns and
Army. A day later it took the town Nis and troop concentrations around the Ljubljana
turned to attack Belgrade driving through the area. The Italians encountered little resis-
Yugoslav 6th Army that was holding the tance from the enemy who were attempting
Morava river valley. The XIV Panzer Korps to withdraw to the southeast. Around 50,000
reached Skopje on April 8, and German Yugoslav troops concentrated near Delnice to
troops entered Nis. await the Italians to make their surrender.
The German 12th Army attacked Thrace, On April 15, in a daring coup, Belgrade was
detaching the XL Panzer Korps westward captured by motorcycle reconnaissance
through the Vardar region of southern
Yugoslavia that led to Macedonia and the BELOW: The commander of an SdKfz 2 3 1
Monastir gap. On April 10 it linked up with Italian armoured car watches as it fords a stream in
forces on Lake Ochrid and moved into positions Yugoslavia. The bullet-proof tyres could be
where it could attack Greece from the north. removed to a l l o w it to drive along r a i l w a y tracks.
BLITZKRIEG
Carrier-based reconnaissance
/torpedo-bomber
Crew: 2 - 3
Power Plant: One 690hp Bristol Pegasus IIIM3
T h e Swordfish entered service with the Performance: Maximum speed 248km/h (154mph)
Maximum ran 1,657km (1,030 miles)
Fleet Air Arm in 1 9 3 6 . It remained in
Weights: Empty 1,903kg (4,1951b)
action throughout the war, actually Loaded 3,502kg (7,720lb)
Hasting the aircraft that was designed to Wing span 13.87m (45ft 6in)
Dimensions:
replace it. The biplane construction of the Length 10.87m (35ft 8in)
Height 3.76m (12ft 4in)
Swordfish earned it the affectionate nick- One fixed .303in Vickers MG firing
Armament:
Tie "Stringbag" and its outdated canvas through the propeller hub; one .303in
construction proved very resilient with Lewis or Vickers K gun; provision for
one 1 8in torpedo or 680kg
contact-fused cannon shells actually passing (1,500lb) mine or one 680kg
through without exploding. Fairey built (1,500lb) bomb.
4 0 0 Swordfish in World W a r II.
19
ABOVE: A PzKpfwIII
fords a river,
bypassing a
demolished bridge on
the Yugoslav border.
24 hours and then at 11.52 on April 15 the 'Gross Deutschland' have entered the city
division's operations officer reported: from the north. With General von Kleist at the
"During the night the 8.Panzer-Division head, the 11 Panzer-Division has been rolling
drove into Belgrade, occupied the city, and into the capital since 06.32".
hoisted the Swastika flag". The final drive of the campaign was on the
However, the 2nd Army had better commu- historic city of Sarajevo. The commander of
nications with Panzergruppe 1, who signalled the German 2nd Army, General von Weichs,
before the 8th P a n z e r Division: was aware that the mountainous terrain in
"Panzergruppe von Kleist has taken Belgrade the area would be ideal for waging a
from the south. Patrols of Infanterie-Regiment prolonged campaign. Bad weather and poor
BLITZKRIEG
RIGHT: German
mountain troops lead
mules laden with
radio equipment
along a mountain
track in Greece. The
Gebirgsjager were
experienced climbers
recruited from
southern Germany
and Austria.
CROAT VOLUNTEERS
roads had delayed the Germans but if the were diverted to attack the Serb positions. A
Yugoslavs offered more resistance in these day later fighting between these groups had
mountains, fighting could last for months. spread to the whole of Dalmatia.
The 2nd Army was reorganised into two On April 15 both pursuit groups of the 2nd
pursuit groups to keep up the pressure on the Army were closing in on Sarajevo. As two
Yugoslavs. Panzer divisions entered simultaneously
Under the command of the recently arrived from east and west the Yugoslav 2nd Army,
LII Infantry Corps HQ, the western group which had its HQ in the city, capitulated.
consisted of four infantry divisions under the Four days after the fall of Belgrade an
XLIX Corps and LI Corps as well as the 14th unconditional surrender was signed by the
Panzer Division. Yugoslavs at 21.00 on Thursday April 17.
The eastern force under Panzergruppe I General von Weichs signed for the Germans,
was made up of six divisions with the 8th the Italian military attache in Belgrade for the
Panzer Division leading the drive towards Italians and a Hungarian liaison officer was
Sarajevo from the east. Luftflotte IV was present but did not sign since technically his
tasked with neutralising the anticipated country was "not at war with Yugoslavia".
enemy troop concentrations in the Mostar- The Yugoslav government was represented
Sarajevo sector. by Foreign Minister Cincar-Marcovic and the
By the evening of April 13, as the 14th armed forces by General Milojko Yankovic.
Panzer Division approached Sarajevo, reports It was a move that marked the dismantling
reached the Germans of fighting between of Yugoslavia and creation of the puppet state
Serbs and Croats in Mostar. German aircraft of Croatia. Areas of Slovenia were annexed
22
BLITZKRIEG
Type: Fighter/fighter-bomber
Crew: 1
Power Plant: One 840hp Fiat A . 7 4 RC 38
Performance: Maximum speed at 4,500m
(14,765ft) 4 7 0 k m / h (293mph)
Normal range 676km (420 miles)
Weights: Empty 2,015kg (4,443lb)
Loaded 2,522kg (5,5601b)
Dimensions: Wing span 10.9m (36ft)
ABOVE: Ground crew warm the engines of a Fiat Length 7.8m (25ft 7in)
Height 2.95m (9ft 8in)
BR.20M Cicogna (Stork) bomber prior to takeoff.
Armament: Two fixed forward-firing 12.7mm
The BR.20 saw action in the Battle of Britain as (0.5in) Breda SAFAT MGs in fuselage
well as the Mediterranean and Eastern Front. max bomb load 300kg (660lb)
by Italy or incorporated into the Greater Veles and Macedonia. To the north and east
German Reich. On the Dalmatian coast the the Germans administered Serbia and occu-
Italians took Zara as a naval base and many pied Banat with its German-speaking
of the offshore islands as well as Rotor to the minority, while Hungary took the provinces
south. They administered the state of of Backa, Prekmurje and Medjumurje.
Montenegro, their puppet Albania and In Directive No 26 issued on April 4, 1941
grabbed areas of Kosovo and western Hitler had already cynically anticipated these
Macedonia. The Bulgarians seized Skopje, land grabs and that Yugoslavia's Balkan
23
BLITZKRIEG
ABOVE: W a v i n g white flags Yugoslav soldiers neighbours could out of self interest thus be
hesitantly cross a stream to surrender to G e r m a n called on to act in concert with German
forces. The ethnic mix of the Yugoslav army split forces or at least grant them free passage.
it into factions, some of which were actually pro- The Fascist organisation Ustasa led by Ante
German. Pavelic ran the Independent State of Croatia
or Drzava Hrvatska Nezavisna (DHN) that
had been set up by the Germans. They waged
a particularly brutal war against the Serbs
within Croatia, expelling, murdering or
converting them to Roman Catholicism in
roughly equal numbers. Incredibly Croatia
was actually a kingdom with a monarch - the
Italian Duke of Spoleto -who during the brief
life of his kingdom never visited his lands or
his subjects. During the fighting in Yugoslavia
some Croat units had refused to go into action
against the Germans. One German formation
surprised a Croat unit that was still in
garrison and not yet fully mobilised. A regi-
mental officers' party which was in progress
was interrupted only long enough to sign the
instruments of surrender, then the officers
ABOVE: Pro-Axis crowds in Croatia greet the crew returned to drinking as if nothing untoward
of a German B M W R75 motorcycle combination had happened.
from a reconnaissance unit. With the invasion of the USSR four months
BLITZKRIEG
POSING
ABOVE: Yugoslav prisoners of w a r w a i t to hear their fate. M a n y were released f o l l o w i n g the defeat.
25
BLITZKRIEG
27
GREEK TRAGEDY
Following violent attack and pursuit fighting, German Panzer
Division spearheads pursued the fleeing British and marched into
Athens at 09.25 on Sunday.
The Swastika flag has been hoisted over the Acropolis
T
he German attack on Greece that Salonika. However, poor roads, bad weather
began on April 8 was to be quick and and crucially hard fighting by the Greek
r u t h l e s s . The 12th Army u n d e r armies and British Expeditionary Force
General Wilhem von List pierced the Greek imposed delays on the Germans.
defences in Thrace and on April 9 the 2nd The Greek 2nd Army holding the Metaxas
Panzer Division under General Veiel took Line that ran from the Aegean to the border
BLITZKRIEG
SDKFZ 222
Armament: One 2cm (0.79in) or 2.8cm
(1.1 in) cannon; one 7.92mm
(0.31 in) MG
Armour: 14.5mm (0.57in) max
Crew: 3
Dimensions: Length 4.8m (15ft 9in);
Width 1.95m (6ft 4in);
Height 1.8m (5ft 11 in)
Weight: 4,800kg (4.72 tons)
Powerplant: Horch V-8 petrol, 81 bhp or
90bhp
Speed: 75km/h (46.6mph) road
Range: 280km (174 miles) road
ABOVE: G r o u n d
crew ready a
Heinkel H e 1 1 1 .
Efficiently a n d
aggressively
directed air power
w o u l d be decisive
in the Balkans
c a m p a i g n both
against land
targets and
shipping.
Choosing the route through the marsh the ABOVE: Captured Greek vehicles on the waterfront
German tanks were forced to advance at at Kavalla in the northern A e g e a n . The Germans
walking speed and lost seven vehicles that were greatly assisted in their advance by
got bogged down. At dusk the surviving capturing a b a n d o n e d British stores of fuel and
German tanks were through and launched an rations.
attack at less than 183m (200yd) from the
flank on British armour and anti-tank gun the Aliakmon Line defended by W Force and
positions. Some British tanks were knocked for three days the Panzer division was stalled
out or abandoned and supply vehicles in front on these well-sited positions.
captured, but the delaying action had been To the west the Greek 1st Army that had
effective. The Germans halted, low on fuel fought heroically in Albania was now at risk
and ammunition, and waited for the bogged- of being cut off by the rapid advance of
down tanks to be recovered. The 53rd Panzer German armour via Fiorina and the British
Regiment lost two PzKpfw IVs, one PzKpfw II withdrawal to the Aliakmon Line. From April
and one PzKpfw I in what was the only tank 13 the Greeks began to pull back towards the
action of the campaign. Pindus Mountains. At Kastoria Pass they
On the morning of April 14 the spearheads encountered the advanced guard of the
of the 9th Panzer Division reached Kozani German 73rd Infantry Division and fought
and established a bridgehead across the hard for a day to break through.
Aliakmon River. However, they had reached On April 19 the Waffen-SS Regiment 1 that
32
BLITZKRIEG
TOP LEFT: Big Short Sunderland flying boats the Greek commander surrendered his
assisting in the evacuation of key British forces. On Hitler's orders this was kept secret
personnel from Greece. ULTRA intercepts gave from the Italians and in recognition of their
A l l i e d planners the chance to second guess the valour the officers were permitted to keep
Germans and evacuate troops from safe their side arms. The soldiers were disarmed
locations. and permitted to return home.
Mussolini, however, insisted that the 1st
LEFT: German soldiers lend a hand to a Army should also surrender to the Italians,
motorcycle crew as they manoeuvre their B M W with whom the Greeks had fought for a
R75 across rugged terrain in Greece. It had a further two days. On April 25 the Greek
drive through to the sidecar w h e e l , a crew of commander signed a second surrender
three and an M G 3 4 machine g u n . agreement that included the Italians.
On April 19 the Greeks agreed that W Force
ABOVE: British soldiers pause by the roadside should be evacuated. On the same day men
during the evacuation of Greece. The trees and of the German XVIII Gebirgsjager Corps
other vegetation provide camouflage from the entered Larissa and captured the airfield and
ever present Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft British supply dumps. Ten truck loads of
and bombers. rations and fuel allowed the mountain troops
to keep up their advance. At the port of Volos.
RIGHT: Junkers Ju52 transports
that could c a r r y 1 8 paratroops
were used at Corinth and in
large numbers in Crete.
which fell on April 21, the Germans again encountered strong resistance but on the
captured large quantities of petrol, oil and night of April 24 - 25 W Force withdrew from
lubricants (POL). These captures were the Thermopylae position.
invaluable for the Germans whose supply This action and the access to ULTRA
lines were restricted by bad roads, demoli- decrypts allowed the British to second guess
tions and poor weather. They had even used the German moves and, in Operation Demon,
Greek fishing vessels and lighters to move evacuate not only many of their men, but also
stores along the Aegean coast. Ring George II of Greece, who flew out to
In a fighting withdrawal the men of W Force Crete. Luftwaffe reports said that British
held the Germans at Thermopylae on April troops were being evacuated from Salamis,
24. G e r m a n air r e c o n n a i s s a n c e h a d and 20 large and 15 small ships were in the
confirmed that a defence line was under Athenian port of Piraeus and four large and
construction. On April 22 tanks and vehicles 31 smaller vessels in Khalkis. All the ports
from the 5th Panzer Division, part of the XVIII were reported to be well protected by AA
Corps under General Bohme, attempted to batteries.
bounce the Thermopylae position but were At the Corinth Canal on April 25 German
halted by fire from well camouflaged artillery paratroopers were tasked with seizing the
and single tanks. The following day men of bridge that spanned the deep ship canal
the German 6th Gebirgsjager Division dividing the North and South Peloponnese. If
outflanked the position by working their way the Germans could hold it they would speed
through difficult terrain to the west in the advance of the XII Army and also cut off
conjunction with a n o t h e r outflanking the retreat of British and Commonwealth
manoeuvre through Molos. At Molos they forces. The troops assigned to the task were
37
BLITZKRIEG
BREN LIGHT
MACHINE-GUN
held it but were strongly counter-attacked
ABOVE: A dramatic reconstruction of the Corinth BELOW: G e r m a n artillerymen urge their horses
canal operation in the m a g a z i n e Signal. It was across a river in Greece. Tanks and motorcycles
published in 1 9 4 4 as a morale booster when might spearhead the attacks, but not all the
G e r m a n y was close to defeat. G e r m a n army was mechanised.
BLITZKRIEG
TOP: An officer salutes as the Reichskriegsflagge ABOVE: A Royal N a v y submarine enters Port Said
is raised on the Acropolis in Athens. The with the battleship HMS Resolution in the
Germans saw themselves as ejecting the British b a c k g r o u n d . The battleship survived the w a r a n d
from G r e e c e , not as occupiers. was scrapped at Faslane in 1 9 4 8 .
BLITZKRIEG
a flagstaff on the Acropolis. In an act of ABOVE: An SdKfz 231 armoured car with a 2cm
symbolic resistance it would be torn down on KwK cannon and 7.92mm MG passes the Greek
the night of May 30-31,1941 - one of the first parliament building in Athens following the
of many acts of active and passive resistance surrender.
during the occupation.
The campaign in Greece and Yugoslavia German casualties were 2,559 killed, 5,820
was a triumph for the German tactics of coor- wounded and 3,169 missing. The British who
dinating tanks, mechanised infantry and had committed 75,000 to the campaign lost
dive-bombers. 12,000 men and all their heavy equipment.
By April 28 W Force had been evacuated. Some 6,298 Yugoslav officers and 337,864
For the operation the Royal Navy had NCOs and soldiers of Serbian extraction were
provided six cruisers and 19 destroyers as taken prisoner. The Germans released
well as numerous transports. Two destroyers Slovenian, Croatian and Macedonian pris-
and four transports were sunk and the bulk oners. The Greeks, who were fully mobilised,
of troops evacuated to Crete. lost 223,000 men.
UNTERNEHMEN MERKUR
T
he final stage in the German occupa- stating that: "As a base for air warfare against
tion of Greece, the attack on Crete Great Britain in the Eastern Mediterranean
between May 20-23,1941, code named we must prepare to occupy the island of
Unternehmen Merkur - Undertaking Mercury Crete."
- was a unique battle. The island was defended by 28,000 British
On April 25 Hitler issued Directive No 28 and Commonwealth forces commanded by
BLITZKRIEG
General Bernard Freyberg, but many had ABOVE: Smoke rises from d a m a g e d or sunk ships
been evacuated from the Greek mainland in Suda Bay f o l l o w i n g G e r m a n air attacks. The
and had limited weapons, ammunition, trans- Luftwaffe's dominance of the air over Crete was
port and poor communications equipment. critical for the operations by German
For the capture of the island of Crete the paratroopers.
Germans committed 13,000 paratroops of
the 7th Air Division u n d e r Leutnant- Freyberg ordered the remaining RAF aircraft
General Kurt Student and 9,000 men of the to fly to Egypt. He assured Wavell that the
5th Gebirgsjager Division under Major- airfields on the island would be rendered
General Julius Ringel with Colonel-General unusable. The daily attacks, known to the
Alexander Lohr in overall command. They soldiers as the "Morning Hate", reached a
were supported by 500 fighters and bombers, crescendo just before 06.00 on May 20 when
500 transports and 80 gliders. they concentrated on the AA gun positions as
The first air attacks on the island began on well as any identified infantry positions. At
May 15 and in the light of the Luftwaffe's Maleme all but one of the AA guns was
overwhelming superiority four days later silenced: "This went on firing for some time,"
recalled a survivor, "till a host of Stukas and
LEFT: General Freyberg enjoys a cigarette during Me 109s fastened on it and shot and blasted
a pause in the fighting in Crete. Despite enjoying it out of existence".
the advantages of ULTRA his forces lacked the The island was held by 28,000 Imperial
equipment and air support to defeat the Germans troops reinforced by Greek battalions and
once they had g a i n e d a lodgement on the island. Cretan irregulars who brought the total
Continued on page SO.
45
BLITZKRIEG
LUFTWAFFE
TOP: W r e c k e d tankers in Suda Bay. The superb ABOVE LEFT A N D RIGHT: Paratroops t r a p p e d on the
natural a n c h o r a g e and port facilities in the north- beach near Retimo lay out g r o u n d to a i r signals
west corner of the island was an obvious target for the Luftwaffe. Some 5 0 0 men of G r o u p Centre
for a i r attacks and p a r a t r o o p landings. survived the initial landings at Retimo.
BLITZKRIEG
50
BLITZKRIEG
vulnerable to air attack. There were few chewing gum. The soldiers even lacked
tanks and these were battered veterans of the digging tools and were obliged to use their
fighting in North Africa. Artillery consisted in helmets to construct positions.
part of captured Italian guns for which sights Operation Merkur divided the island into
had been improvised with match sticks and four drop zones: from west to east, Maleme,
BLITZKRIEG
Canea, Retimo and Heraklion. For lack of ABOVE: W i t h the fighting over a Luftwaffe
sufficient transport aircraft the island was motorcycle crew g a z e at a crash-landed J u 5 2 ,
attacked in two waves in the morning and the the port engine of w h i c h has been ripped from
afternoon of May 20. Some 500 tough, reli- its mountings. This is p r o b a b l y M a l e m e a i r f i e l d .
able Ju52 transport aircraft were available in
the XI Air Corps commanded by Generalmajor ABOVE RIGHT: M e n of the 5th M o u n t a i n Division
Conrad. The Corps consisted of Geschwader w a i t at airfields near Athens, ready for the flight
1, 2 and 3, making up ten transport groups. across the A e g e a n . C o m m a n d e d by the b e a r d e d
They would fly from airfields at Tanagra, Austrian General Julius Ringel, the division
Topolis, Dadion, Megara, Corinth, Phaleron composed of the 85th and 100th M o u n t a i n
and Elevsis. Regiments proved critical in the battle for Crete.
The first w a v e , Group West u n d e r
Generalmajor Eugen Meindl, would land in RIGHT: Some men are pensive and others joke
Maleme/Canea zone. They would be spear- nervously as, w e a r i n g life jackets, Gebirgsjager,
headed by the 1st Assault Regiment in sit rifle in h a n d , in the bucket seats of their Ju52
DFS230 gliders who would land to the west as it roars across the sea. Upon landing the drill
of Maleme airfield and around Suda Bay to was to exit the aircraft as quickly as possible.
neutralise any AA guns that had survived the
air attacks. This would prepare the way for
the paratroops.
BLITZKRIEG
53
BLITZKRIEG
ABOVE AND BELOW: A mopping up operation in and N e w Zealand troops were captured as they
Crete. Paratroops move cautiously through an olive fought rearguard actions that allowed British
grove before throwing stick grenades into a British troops to be evacuated by the Royal N a v y from the
position and launching an attack. M a n y Australian tiny southern harbour at Sphakia.
55
BLITZKRIEG
56
BLITZKRIEG
fighting in Crete and the size and determi- ABOVE: A Junkers Ju88 dive bomber roars low
nation of the garrison. The olive groves across the sea in an anti-shipping strike against
provided excellent camouflage for the ships off Crete. The Royal N a v y lost cruisers
defenders and the terraced hillsides reduced and destroyers in these attacks but evacuated
much of the effect of bombing. 1 6 , 5 0 0 men.
The German airborne attack philosophy
was to jump directly onto the objective - even and Anzac troops quickly established the
though this ran the risk of incurring heavy most effective technique was to aim at the
casualties. The British and American paratrooper's feet as he descended. One
approach was to have a safe DZ away from defender described it as being "like the opening
the objective and so allow the paratroopers of the duck shooting season in New Zealand".
to form into a cohesive group - however, this The gliders came in so low and slow that
ran the risk that the force would be inter- the defenders could fire right into them
cepted before it reached its objective. killing all the occupants before they had even
When they jumped the men were lightly hit the ground. Even those that landed with
armed and had to collect heavier weapons the soldiers still alive hit rocky, terraced
from containers that were parachuted with terrain and broke up, killing or injuring the
them. In the short time that men were in the occupants.
air on their parachutes they were easy targets Paratroops who landed at the little fishing
for riflemen below. On the ground the British port of Kastelli west of Maleme were killed
BLITZKRIEG
by Cretan irregulars, men dressed in the troops with their Cretan allies were confident
traditional costume of baggy black trousers almost cocky.
and high boots. Armed with knives, axes and By the end of the day 40 per cent of
hunting rifles they attacked these airborne Student's assault force was either dead,
enemies. When Crete was finally occupied wounded or a prisoner. "Today has been a
the Germans shot 200 men from Kastelli for hard one," Freyberg cabled Wavell in Egypt.
these "atrocities". "We have been hard pressed. So far, I believe,
In the afternoon the second wave flew into we hold aerodromes at Heraklion and
disaster. In just one hour a force of 1,500 Maleme...Margin by which we hold them is
Fallschirmjager was reduced to 1,000 men in a bare one, and it would be wrong of me to
small scattered groups being hunted and paint an optimistic picture. Fighting has been
trapped. At Retimo, Group Centre in the heavy and we have killed large numbers of
second wave was trapped in an olive factory, Germans. Communications are most diffi-
under siege by the British and Australian cult".
forces. Dust now shrouded the airfields in Only at the western end of Maleme airfield
Greece and in the chaos the Luftwaffe did the paratroops manage to find cover and
released aircraft that arrived at Heraklion in set up a viable base in the dried up riverbed
relays and so were easy targets for the well of the Tavronitis.
camouflaged defenders. On the morning of The key feature that dominated the airfield
May 21 Piper Macpherson of the Black Watch was the hill known as Point 107 that was held
climbed out of his slit trench at Heraklion and by t h e New Z e a l a n d 22nd B a t t a l i o n
sounded reveille - the British and Anzac commanded by Lt Colonel Les Andrew.
BLITZKRIEG
MP38/40
MP38/40
T he German Maschinenpistole MP38 and
MP40 sub-machine guns, originally
manufactured at the Erma-Werke at Erfurt,
had several revolutionary features. N o
wood was used in their construction, only
steel and plastic, and they had a folding
metal butt ideal for paratroopers and
armoured vehicle crews. The 9mm calibre
MP38 and MP40 both fired from a 32-
round box magazine with a distinctive
cyclic rate of 5 0 0 rounds a minute. They
were 833mm (32.6in) long with the butt
extended and 630mm (24.8in) with it
folded. Manufacturing changes to increase
production reduced machining and
replaced it with welding and steel press-
ings. This reduced the weight of the MP40
to 4.027kg (8.87lb), compared to
4 . 0 8 6 k g (9lb) in the MP38.
convoy of 25 commandeered caiques - Greek sunk along with the destroyer HMS
fishing boats - escorted by the Italian Greyhound. Gloucester and Greyhound had
destroyer Lupo. The Royal Navy sank several been patrolling the Kithira Channel to the
caiques and others turned back. They were north-west of the island, on the look out for
carrying elements of the 5th Gebirgsjager troop-carrying convoys. On May 23 the
Division with their vehicles, Flak and support destroyers HMS Kelly and Kashmir were lost,
weapons, as well as engineer and anti-tank the former captained by Lord Mountbatten. On
units. A larger group of 35 vessels intended May 29 the destroyers HMS Imperial and
to support Group East on the second day Hereward were sunk off the north coast.
returned to Milos but some boats did make For the men making the fighting withdrawal
landfall on the island. to the south, it was a grim slog across the
These attacks came at a cost, and on May m o u n t a i n spine of the Levka (White)
21 the Royal Navy had suffered its first casu- Mountains to Sphakia. The men at Retimo
alties when at dawn German aircraft sank the never received the order to withdraw and
destroyer HMS Juno and damaged the cruiser when German forces finally arrived in the area
HMS Ajax. A day later the losses mounted as they found that 500 paratroops were virtual
the cruisers HMS Gloucester and Fiji were prisoners in the olive oil factory, surrounded
62
BLITZKRIEG
by 1,500 Australian and Greek troops. In the ABOVE: This dramatic and very inaccurate map
olive groves and fields lay the bodies of over published in Signal shows the three d r o p zones
700 Fallschirmjager. and suggests that all were successful. In reality it
At Retimo and Heraklion Australian and was only at M a l e m e that the paratroopers g a i n e d
British forces had quickly learned how to a small toehold and eventually after hard fighting
confuse the Luftwaffe t r a n s p o r t s and they secured the island.
bombers. They laid out captured swastika
flags on their positions, stopped shooting Cunningham was an inspirational leader for
when aircraft appeared and when the his crews: "It takes the Navy three years to
Germans fired green recognition flares, fired build a ship. It would take 300 years to rebuild
similar signals. On a number of occasions a tradition."
laying out captured recognition panels However so severe were the losses at Crete
produced the prompt delivery of weapons, that the Germans never attempted a major
ammunition, rations and medical stores. airborne operation again. Hitler declared to
The evacuation of the garrison by the Royal Student that: "the day of the paratrooper is
Navy had been costly, but when it ended on over. The parachute arm is a surprise weapon
J u n e 1, 16,500 m e n had b e e n saved. and without the element of surprise there can
63
BLITZKRIEG
be no future for airborne forces," and with ABOVE: The fighting over, paratroops march d o w n
these words he condemned this superb force to to the docks in Crete. M e n were shocked to
a ground role. If it had been used against Malta discover how heavy the losses were when they
or Cyprus this would have shifted the strategic returned to almost empty barracks in Germany.
balance in the Mediterranean firmly in favour
of the Axis. Paratroops, were, however, used in without shipping with which to reach the
some small scale operations in the latter years mainland. Along with the islands of Milos,
of the war, including the Aegean, and the Leros and Rhodes, they were grandly desig-
Ardennes offensive in 1944-45. nated Festungen - fortresses.
Conquered Greece was divided among the The Balkan campaign, forced on the
Axis powers. Bulgaria took Western Thrace Germans by Italian adventurism in Greece in
and so had access to the Aegean and after 1943 1941, had delayed the attack on the USSR by
this area was expanded westwards into a critical two months. It had been scheduled
Macedonia. However Germany had control of for May 15 but would be launched on June 22.
the border with Turkey along with the offshore The mud and snow of the winter of 1941
islands of Lemnos, Lesbos and Chios. would not have stopped the Panzers outside
The bulk of Greece was administered by Moscow, they would still have had eight weeks
the Italians, with the exception of Athens, the good going if they had attacked in May.
port of Piraeus and the western two-thirds of
Crete including Suda Bay. Following Italy's RIGHT: The air a n d sea battle over a n d around
surrender in September 1945 German troops Crete saw the Luftwaffe pitched against the Royal
pushed into the whole of Greece. Navy. Though the navy suffered heavy losses, it
By May 9, 1945, on the last day of the war, m a n a g e d to evacuate many men from the island
the Germans had evacuated Greece, but the and intercept enemy convoys c a r r y i n g troops and
garrison of western Crete was trapped equipment to support the a i r b o r n e landings.
64
BLITZKRIEG
65
AFRIKA KORPS ASCENDANT
W
hile the Balkans campaign was and Commonwealth forces and so Berlin
being fought out, on the other side decided that a small number of troops should
of the Mediterranean Germany be sent to assist them. On Tuesday February
was again coming to the assistance of its 18, 1941, the force was designated the
unreliable ally. The Italians had been driven Deutsches Afrika Korps (DAK) or Afrika Korps
back deep into their colony of Libya by British and consisted of the 15th Panzer and 5th
ABOVE: General Erwin Rommel salutes the newly formed Afrika Korps in Tripoli on February 2 7 , 1941
BLITZKRIEG
Light (later renamed 21st Panzer) Divisions, ABOVE: O n e of several p r o p a g a n d a pictures taken
though the title would be used for all German showing the arrival of the Afrika Korps in Libya.
forces serving in North Africa from 1941 to Rommel was quick to take the offensive against
1943. the over-extended British and Commonwealth
It was commanded by Lieutenant General forces.
Erwin Rommel, a soldier who would be as
m u c h r e s p e c t e d by h i s B r i t i s h a n d
Commonwealth enemies, who nicknamed
him the "Desert Fox", as by the soldiers
under his command. Rommel, who had
served with distinction in World War I,
commanded the Afrika Korps from February
18, 1941 to March 9, 1943, during which time
he outfought the British and Commonwealth
forces on numerous occasions.
Rommel was an aggressive and energetic
leader and before his forces were fully up to
strength he elected to attack. The first contact ABOVE: A salute from the commander of an 8 x 8
between the Afrika Korps and the men of SdKfz 2 3 1 heavy armoured car. It had a crew of
Wavell's Middle East Command was by a four a n d was used for a variety of roles.
BLITZKRIEG
Armament:
PZKPFW IV AUSF F2 Armour:
Weight:
"The PzKpfw IV was built
Hull length:
under a 1934 specification Width:
from the Germany Army Height:
Weapons Department. It Engine:
70
BLITZKRIEG
Armament:
Armour:
Crew:
Dimensions:
Weight:
Powerplant:
Speed:
MEDIUM TANK M3 Range:
(LEE/GRANT M K I)
Armament:
Armour:
Crew:
Dimensions:
Weight:
Powerplant:
Speed:
Range:
72
BLITZKRIEG
MK V I LIGHT TANK ( 1 9 3 6 )
I i g h t tanks had been
developed from the 1930s
based on the Carden-Loyd
tankette concept and the Mk VI
was the second British tank of
this type to have a three man
crew. It saw action in France,
the Balkans and North Africa.
Though it was agile and fairly
Armament:
reliable, the armour was thin
and armament light. After 1942 Armour:
the light tanks were withdrawn Crew:
Dimensions:
and replaced by Stuarts.
Surviving vehicles were used for
training. Weight:
Powerplant:
Speed:
Range:
M 4 (EARLY SHERMAN)
Using the same hull and
suspension as the M3
Medium tank the Americans
produced a tank that,
though less well armoured
than other designs and
prone to catch fire when
hit, it became a war winner
simply by dint of the
numbers that were built.
When production ceased in
1941, s h a d made
null was used
for many variants including Armament:
BIRTH OF T H E SAS
"1 Target: Enemy fighter and bomber minus 1) each party will carry out its raid so
landing grounds at TMIMI and GAZALA. as to arrive on the target at the same time.
2 Method: In the night of D minus 2, 5 4 Each party will carry a total of about 6 0
sections to be parachuted on to drop zones incendiary-cum-explosive bombs equipped
some 12 miles south of the objectives; this with 2-hour, V2-hour and 10-minute time
will preserve surprise. Each section is of 12 pencils in addition to a 12-second fuse. The
men (i.e. 3 sub-sections of 4). As cover a time pencils will be used on a time de-
heavy raid is required on GAZALA and escalating basis to ensure almost
TMIMI using as many flares as possible to simultaneous detonation.
aid navigation to the drop zones.
5 After the raid each party will retire
3 After re-assembly on the drop zones each independently into the desert to a
section will spend the balance of the night D prearranged meeting place south of the TRIG
minus 2 in getting to pre-arranged lying-up EL ABD to rendezvous with a patrol of the
points from which they will observe the Long Range Desert Group."
targets the next day. The following night (D
75
BLITZKRIEG
ABOVE: A PzKpfw IV drives past a captured 8th BELOW: Rommel's counter thrust in 1 9 4 2 that took
A r m y Bren Gun Carrier. The Afrika Korps made him deep into Egypt. In C a i r o a n d A l e x a n d r i a
extensive use of captured vehicles, equipment nervous British officials and staff officers began
a n d even artillery. burning classified documents.
BLITZKRIEG
78
BLITZKRIEG
HANS-JOACHIM
MARSEILLE
(1909 - 1942)
Normal range:
Maximum speed at sea
level 175km/h (109mph)
385km (239 miles)
Weights: Empty 930kg (2,050lb)
allowed it to virtually hover, while its short take-off and Loaded 1,320kg (2,910lb)
landing capability made it superb in cramped landing Dimensions: Wing span 1 4.25m
grounds. About 4 0 captured aircraft were used by the (46ft 9in)
Length: 9.90m (32ft 5in)
Allies and during the war Germany and subsidiary Height: 3.05m (10ft 0in)
factories in occupied Europe produced 2,549 aircraft. Armament: One 7.92mm MG15 in
rear cockpit glazing.
BLITZKRIEG
devised by members of the SAS during ABOVE: A Storch lifts off from a rough airstrip. It
moments of leisure in Egypt. What was enter- was used for observation a n d liaison w o r k .
taining for them was very useful for Clarke
since reports of an airborne unit in Egypt than 250 aircraft on the ground, more than
were picked up by agents working for the the RAF achieved in the air. Among the
Germans. targets were the invaluable Ju52 transport
The SAS would develop raiding techniques aircraft. Rommel said of the SAS that it
against Axis airfields that would destroy more "caused us more damage than any other
The Italians saw the ruthless approach to and move HQs and staff to Palestine. June 30
war causing mounting casualties among was known as "Ash Wednesday" as staffs
their forces and Rommel as a commander began to burn classified papers.
over which they had no control. Though he Sandstorms, heavy artillery fire and attacks
was a brilliant and aggressive leader, his by the Desert Air Force slowed down
drive to lead from the front meant that he was Rommel's attacks on July 1. He mounted
often out of contact with his HQ and staff. further attacks against El Alamein and
On June 27 the DAK outflanked the Mersa Ruweisat Ridge but, exploiting ULTRA intel-
Matruh position and a day later captured Fuqa. ligence, Auchinleck attempted a counter
When Mersa Matruh fell on June 29 the Axis stroke to the south.
forces again captured huge stocks of supplies. In six weeks of confused fighting the 8th
Optimism among Axis leaders was high and Army fought the Axis forces to a standstill and
Mussolini arrived in Libya to prepare for his by July 3 the Afrika Korps had only 26 tanks
triumphant entry into Cairo. In the desert fit for action. Churchill, aware that comman-
there was confusion as 8th Army vehicles and ders in North Africa had access to ULTRA
Axis mingled in the move eastwards. This intelligence, was impatient at the apparent
confusion was further compounded by the use lack of progress and so on August 13 he
by the Afrika Korps of captured trucks, tanks replaced Auchinleck with General Harold
and artillery. When Rommel's forces arrived Alexander as Commander in Chief Middle
at the Alamein area on June 50 they caused East with General Bernard Montgomery in
panic in Cairo and moves to evacuate the city command of the 8th Army.
BLITZKRIEG
LEFT: N e w Z e a l a n d a n d British
troops w a i t in a PoW cage in
Libya. This cage had been set
up by the 8th A r m y a n d then
captured by the Afrika Korps.
RIGHT: A 17cm K 18 in
action. A Krupps-designed
g u n , it could fire a 6 8 k g
(150lb) shell to a maximum
range of 2 8 , 0 0 0 metres
( 3 0 , 5 2 0 y d ) and had a dual
recoil mechanism.
85
BLITZKRIEG
ABOVE: A PzKpfw III protected by sandbags and By October 23, 1942, Rommel had 80,000
extra track links moves along a desert track. The men and 540 tanks, of which 280 were Italian
crew are seated on top to stay cool in the A f r i c a n and only 58 the superior PzKpfw IV.
sun. Montgomery and Alexander, having
resisted pressure from Churchill for an
to explain the interception. It was normally earlier attack, had amassed 230,000 men and
air reconnaissance - the aircraft would be 1,200 t a n k s , including 500 Grants or
seen by the German and Italian crews who Shermans. It was time for the final show
would assume that was why they were subse- down between the 8th Army and the Afrika
quently attacked. Montgomery was criticised Korps.
for using ULTRA too obviously in his deploy- The Afrika Korps had developed a belt of
m e n t s at Alam Haifa a n d p o s s i b l y defences between the Mediterranean coast
compromising it. and the Quattara Depression, an area of salt
Stymied at Alam Haifa, the Afrika Korps dug marsh to the south that was reported to be
in to await the 8th Army counter attack. impassable to vehicles. Though there were
89
BLITZKRI EG
Type:
P-40B TOMAHAWK IIA Crew:
Power Plant:
Performance:
natural obstacles in the desert -wadis, ridges 'Attention Mines'. Barbed wire might be
and escarpments - these presented less of a wrapped around fence posts in a distinctive
threat to mobility than the deep minefields pattern to indicate the edge of the minefield.
that were laid by both sides. Live minefields were marked with upright
German minefields were marked with lettering and dummy fields with slanting.
boards showing a skull, crossed bones, the Throughout the war the markings were
letter "M" or the warning Achtung Minen - changed to confuse Allied intelligence.
BLITZKRIEG
LiLI M A R L E E N
MINE WARFARE
(LILLIMARLENE)
92
BLITZKRIEG
The German minefields were in some For Churchill a decisive British victory in
areas almost 8km (5 miles) deep and besides North Africa was vital for political reasons
a mixture of AT mines with AP mines to deter before the United States became involved in
8th Army engineers as well as kill or injure fighting on land and became the "senior
infantry, the Afrika Korps had even dug in partner" in the war. Men and new machines
250kg (5001b) aerial bombs as massive anti - would be pitted against the Afrika Korps at
tank mines. In the dramatic language popular El Alamein. The high water mark of German
at the time, these complex minefields were operations in North Africa.
dubbed "Devil's Gardens".
LEFT: W r e c k e d by a mine
a n d possibly destroyed by
its crew before they
withdrew, is a gutted
PzKpfw III. Rommel was
now critically short of tanks.
BLITZKRIEG
95
BLITZKRIEG
Luftflotte IV, 16, 17, 22 New Zealand Bde 4th, 40 Ringel, Julius, 46, 52, 54 Tmimi, 75
Lupo, 62 Nofilia, 71 Ritchie, Neil, 75, 78, 82, TNT, 93
Lustre, Operation, 9 North Africa, 1 2 , 5 0 , 5 1 , 83 Tobruk, 71, 75, 78, 83, 87
Lyon, 6 72 Romania, 7, 10, 13 Topolis, 52
Rommel, Erwin, 66, 67, Trig el Abd, 75
M3 Lee/Grant, 72, 86, 89, Ohio, 70 69, 76, 77, 81, 82, 83, 88, Tripartite Pact, 7, 14
90 89 Tripolitania, 12
M3A1 Stuart, 72, 73 P-40B Tomahawk, 91 Royal Air Force (RAF), 45, Tunisia, 11
M4 Sherman, 73, 86 Pak 35/36, 26 78, Turkey, 64
Macchi MC200 Saetta, 22 Pak 38, 87 Royal Navy, 9, 12, 43, 55,
Macedonia, 17, 23, 43, 64 Palestine, 82 61, 62, 63, 64 ULTRA, 12, 37, 40, 45, 50,
Maiale, 11 Palten, 27 Rupul Gorge, 29 61, 71, 84, 86, 88, 89
Maitland Wilson, 9 Panzergruppe 1, 20, 22 Ruweisat Ridge, 84 United States, 94
Maleme, 51, 57, 59, 60 Panzer Corps XIV, 17, 22 Upham, Charles, 50
Malta, 64, 70 Panzer Corps XL, 17 S Mine, 92, 93 Upholder, HMS, 11
March on Rome, 7 Panzer Corps XLIX, 22 Salamis, 37 USSR, 64
Maribor, 27 Panzer Corps LI, 22 Salonika, 14, 15, 29
Marlene, Lilli, 92 Panzer Div 2nd, 28 Sarajevo, 22 Vardar, 17
Marseille, Hans-Joachim, Panzer Div 5th, 37 Savoia-Marchetti SM81, Valentine, 70
79 Panzer Div 8th, 18, 20, 22 10 Valiant, HMS, 11
Matilda II, 12, 60 Panzer Division 9th, 29, 32 Savoia-Marchetti SM79- Valletta, 70
Megara, 52 Panzer Div 11th, 20 11, 10 Veles, 23
Mediterranean, 6, 9,11, 64 Panzer Div 14th, 22 Schmeling, Max, 60 Venezia, Operation, 82
Medjumurje, 23 Panzer Div 15th, 66, 77, Schumine, 92 Vevi, 29, 30
Meindl, Eugene, 46, 52, 82 SdKfz 222, 30 Victoria Cross (VC), 50,
54 Panzer Div 21st, 67, 82 SdKfz 231, 43, 67 60
Mercury, 44 Panzer Rgt 33rd, 30, 32 SdKfz 250, 68, 83 Vittorio Veneto, 12
Merkur, Unternehmen, 44, Papadopoulos, 8 Short Sunderland, 35 Volos, 35
51 Paul, Prince, 14 Sidi Barrani, 78
Mersa Brega, 71, 82 Pavelic, Ante, 24 Signal, 4 1 , 60, 63 W Force, 9, 30, 32, 35, 37,
Mersa Matruh, 82, 84 Pearl Harbor, 11 Simovic, Dusan, 15, 16 43
Messerschmitt, Me109, Petacci, Clara, 7 Skopje, 17, 23 Waffen-SS, 18, 29,
16, 45, 46, 79 Peter, Prince, 15 Slovakia, 7 Waffen-SS regiment 1, 32
Messerschmitt, Bf110, 38, Phaleron, 52 Slovenia, 22, 43 Waugh, Evelyn, 61
46,65 Pindus Mountains, 32, 33 Soddu, Ubaldo, 9 Wavell, Archibald, 9, 12,
Metaxas, Ioannis, 7 Piraeus, 9, 17, 37, 64 Solium, 77 45, 59, 67, 71
Metaxas Line, 26, 28 Ploesti, 13, 14 South Africa, 13, 88 Weichs, Freiherr von, 17,
Metsovon Pass, 33 Pogradaoc, 9 South African 2nd Div, 82 20, 22, 27
Mezzi Navali d'Assalto, 11 Point 107, 59 Spanish Civil War, 7, 10, White Mountains, 62
MG 34, 29, 56, 77 Pola, 12 46 World War I, 7, 67
Milan, 7 Poland, 16, 71 Sparta, 30
Milch, Erhard, 46 Porto Edda, 9 Special Air Service (SAS), Yannina, 32
Milos, 62, 64 Port Said, 42 54, 74, 78, 81 York, HMS, 11
Mines, 91,92, 93, 94 Prasca, Visconti-, 7 Sphakia, 55, 61, 62 Yugoslavia, 7, 12, 15, 22,
Mitraglice Fiat 194/35, 8 Prekmurje, 23 Spoleto, Duke of, 24 25,43
Mk VI Light Tank, 72 Ptolemais, 30 Stalingrad, 21
Molos, 37 Punishment, Operation, Stirling, David, 74, 78, Zara, 23
Monastir, 17 15 Student, Kurt, 45, 58, 60,
Monastir Gap, 29 PzKpfw I, 32 63
Montenegro, 23 PzKpfw II, 15, 26, 32 Sturm, 40
Montgomery, Bernard, 84, PzKpfw III, 29, 89, 94 Suda Bay, 1 1 , 4 5 , 4 8 , 6 0 ,
86,89 PzKpfw IV, 29, 32, 69, 76, 61,64
Morava river, 17 89 Sussmann, Wilhelm, 46,
Morshead, 71 54
Moscow, 64 Quattara Depression, 89
Mostar, 22 Queen Elizabeth, HMS, 11 Tanagra, 52
Mountbatten, Lord, 62 Taranto, 11
MP38, 56, 62 Raphti, 40 Tavronitis, 59, 60
MP40, 62 Resolution, HMS, 42 Tellermine, 93
Mussolini, Benito, 6, 7, 9, Retimo, 48, 52, 54, 59, 60, Thermopylae, 30, 37
13,84 63 Thrace, 17, 28, 64
New Zealand, 57, 85 Rhodes, 64 Tiger, convoy, 71
New Zealand Div, 9 Rhone, 6 Tirana, 9
ISBN 0-7110-2946-6